The etrog, a fruit used in the rituals of the festival of
Sukkot, is not commonly seen in America. If you
haven't participated in the Sukkot rituals, then you have probably never seen
or held one. Even if you have seen one, chances are you haven't seen what the
fruit looks like on the inside, nor seen the tree it grows from. This page
discusses the etrog fruit and tree, with photographs of a whole and dissected
etrog fruit, an etrog tree and its leaves, flowers and thorns.

The Etrog Fruit: Inside and Out

The etrog is a medium-sized citrus fruit, with a color, scent and taste similar
to a lemon. It is also known in English as the citron, though there is
apparently more than one variety of citron. This variety is identified in
scientific literature as the etrog citron. The etrog is used in the waving
rituals of the festival of Sukkot, where the
etrog is said to represent the heart (because of its shape), and also said to
represent the ideal kind of Jews, who have both knowledge of Torah and good
deeds (because it has both a pleasant scent and a pleasant taste). One
midrash suggests that the etrog, not the apple,
was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Why, then, does the Western
world think that the fruit was the apple? Perhaps because the ancient Greeks
called this fruit the Persian apple, Median apple or golden apple.

Pic. 1: An Etrog

A typical etrog fruit is oblong shaped, four to six inches long and has a bumpy
rind. The Yemenite variety of etrog is larger, but looks quite similar. The
etrog in the pictures at left is the one I used during Sukkot in 2005, and is
quite typical of the ones used in America. It is almost 5 inches long. At its
widest point, it is 2¾ inches wide. Some etrogs have a narrowing in the
center, like a waist, that is somewhat more green. These are commonly referred
to as "belted" etrogs. Belted etrogs are valid for the
mitzvah of the waving; in fact, some people
prefer them.

Pic. 2: The Stem

At one end of the etrog is the green stem that connects the fruit to the tree,
seen at right. At the other end, most etrogs have an extension known in Jewish
tradition as the pitam, seen in Pic. 3 below. The knobby part of the pitam is
the remnants of the part of the flower that biologists would call the stigma,
the part that receives pollen grains during fertilization. It is somewhat rough
to the touch in a mature etrog. The narrower tube-like area connecting to the
fruit is the remnants of the flower's style. The fruit itself is the flower's ovary.

Pic. 3: The Pitam

If your etrog has a pitam, as most do, then you must be very careful not to
break it off during the course of the holiday. If the pitam breaks off, the
etrog is considered to be damaged and no longer valid for performing the
mitzvah of waving. However, if the etrog grows naturally without a pitam, it is
valid. In fact, some people prefer pitamless etrogs, because you don't have to
worry about breaking off the pitam before the end of the holiday!

Pic. 4: Cross-Section of an Etrog

The etrog is surprisingly light in weight for its size, much lighter than you
would expect for a comparably sized lemon. This is because the etrog is mostly
rind, with very little pulp or juice, as you can see in Pic. 4 and 5. The ones
I have used for ritual purposes are all like this, but there are probably ones
grown for eating that have a higher fruit-to-rind ratio. The etrog also has a
very large, dense core, unlike more familiar citrus fruits. Like most citrus
fruits, the pulp area forms in segments, but the fruit is not easily separated
into segments. The skin separating these segments is not pliable, and not
easily separated from the core. Rather, the pulp must be scooped out from
between the segments if you want to eat it. More likely you would simply
squeeze out the juice. The rind is edible and is commonly candied. Note that
most recipes for candied citrus peel tell you to remove the white part of the
peel, but I usually candy that too, as most of the fruit is white part!

Pic. 5: The Fruity Center

After I cut away all of the rind on this etrog, leaving as much pulp as
possible, I was left with a block of pulp and seed that was barely 2 inches
long and 1½ inches wide. Much of this fruity center is seeds; I harvested
about 30 seeds from this etrog. The seeds look much like other citrus seeds,
see Pic. 6 below.

The pulp is edible but quite sour, like a lemon. It looks much like any other
citrus pulp, see Pic. 7 below, though the skin of the pulp is somewhat more
dense. With diligent squeezing, you can obtain a tablespoon or two of etrog
juice, too sour to drink but suitable for making a glass or two of etrog-ade!

Pic. 6: Etrog Seeds

Pic. 7: Etrog Pulp

The Etrog Tree

After Sukkot 2002, I planted the seeds from the etrog I had used for the
holiday and one of the seeds grew into a tree. The etrog tree pictures on this
page are pictures of that tree, which was an annual guest in my sukkah. The
pictures show it as a two-week old seedling (Pic. 8), a one-year-old tree
(about three feet tall) and as a two-year-old tree (over four feet tall). And a
three-year-old tree. I was slow to realize that the tree was infested with
spider mites (you can see the characteristic webbing in some of these
pictures), and by the time I started treating the problem, it was too late.
I've tried planting etrog seeds since then, but have never had as much success
as I did with this one.

I will not presume to give any advice on how to grow etrogs from seeds, because
I have very little gardening skill and my success with this one was mostly
luck. I'm sure it is no different than growing any other citrus seed, and there
are certainly better places to get that information than on this site! Two
things I can tell you about caring for them once they sprout: don't overwater
them (wait until the soil begins to dry out), and don't underfertilize them.

Pic. 9: 1 Year

Pic. 10: 2 Years

Pic. 11: 3 Years

I gather that it is not unusual for an etrog or other citrus trees to grow
multiple trunks, as this one did. For what it's worth, my second trunk
developed after I mistakenly repotted my etrog tree at an angle during its
second year. A new trunk started to grow out of the first trunk, growing
straight up. You can clearly see the two distinct trunks, looking like two
different trees, in the third picture above.

Pic 12: Etrog Leaf

The etrog tree is an evergreen, which means its leaves should be green
year-round, unless of course you underfertilize it or it's infested with pests,
in which case the leaves turn yellow and drop off. Etrog leaves are large and
oval-shaped, five or six inches long and two inches wide. They should have a
rich green color. The one pictured at right is yellowing a bit at the edges,
but is otherwise a good color. They smell very much like Lemon Pledge furniture
polish! Some people put the leaves in closets to repel moths.

Pic. 13: Etrog Flower

Pic. 14: Etrog Thorn

Etrog trees produce small white flowers, an inch or two across, that will
eventually develop into fruits. Etrog trees are self-fertilizing, so you don't
need multiple trees to produce fruits. However, if your etrog tree is indoors,
without bees to transfer the pollen, you'll have to help this along. You can do
this by shaking the branches near the flowers once or twice a day. This tree
never successfully produced fruit, but I have produced other fruits from indoor
plants this way. The flower picture above was taken in March 2005, when the
tree was about 2½ years old, and was the first time I had noticed flowers
on the tree. You can see that several other flowers are ready to blossom on the
same branch.

Etrog trees also develop thorns, which are between ½ and ¾ inch long.
They are quite thin and rather sharp, but do not possess any irritant
properties. The thorns tend to grow out of the trunks or branches, usually near
the leaves.

Further Reading

If you would like to learn more about the etrog fruit and tree and its history,
Zaide Reuven's Esrog Farm has a great
little book called The Etrog with lots of information, including tips for
growing, and recipes. They also sell etrog seedlings, cuttings and trees. I
confess, I did not have much luck with the seedlings I bought from them many
years ago, but this probably has more to do with my lack of skill as a gardener
than with their products: my etrog tree above is the most successful plant I
have managed to grow, and I killed it within four years! They also sell other
etrog-related products and other things related to Sukkot.